Aerospace

Rising fuel costs, environmental regulations and an increase in airline traffic have helped drive the increasing use of composite materials in the aerospace industry. Composites are used in military, business and commercial aircraft of all sizes, including spacecraft.

Carbon Fiber: The Next Target for LFI

For more than two decades, the long fiber injection (LFI) process has provided time, money and labor savings to manufacturers of glass fiber and polyurethane resin composite parts for markets such as transit,...

Rocket Lab’s Composite Neutron Medium Payload Rocket Clears Another Milestone Towards Launch

Rocket Lab’s engineers successfully completed a hot fire test of its Archimedes engine, a significant step towards the first scheduled flight of the Neutron medium payload rocket for mid-2025. All the...

Strong Enough for Space

Strong Enough for Space A NASA research team investigating methods of welding thermoplastic components could be opening up opportunities on the moon and in deep space for the composites industry. The...

NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System Ready to Launch

When using solar sails, traditional heavy propulsion systems are replaced by using the pressure of sunlight. A team at NASA has enhanced the design of the booms for the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System by...

EVTOLs Closer to Lift Off

Visitors to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris may have a new option for traveling from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the city – an electric air taxi. Volocopter, a German-based advanced air mobility (AAM)...

Addressing Seven Key Needs in Aerospace

Reports by numerous market research firms indicate the global aerospace composites market will increase at a 9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the next several years. However, there are some obstacles...